Grad rates will appear to drop; state says adult ed transfers must be tracked and counted

A change to how Nevada will count adult education transfer students means graduation rates are likely to appear to dip when the Class of 2014 data is released.

Since 2011 the U.S. Department of Education mandated all school districts around the country calculate grad rates using a cohort of students starting as freshman and tracking that group through senior year. But the Nevada Department of Education allowed districts to exclude students who went on to adult education programs. Other states were counting this group of students as drop outs already.

The state recently received clarification from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Washoe County School District said although rates will appear to drop this new way is means data will be more accurate.

“With the revised guidelines our graduation rate will likely be a bit lower, but the gains we have made higher,” Accountability Officer for Washoe County School District Ben Hayes said.

In Washoe County, 642 students transferred to adult education programs in the past three years. But because they were not counted, those students raised Washoe County’'s graduation rate 3 to 5 percentage points each year. It didn’t matter that most did not get an adult diploma or pass the high school equivalency exam.

Of the 188 students from the Washoe County senior class of 2013 who transferred to adult education, 31 received a diploma and 27 passed the GED through district programs.

The district has been working to reduce the number of students transfering to adult education from 249 in 2012 to fewer than 100 expected for the Class of 2014.

Now all districts in the state will have to follow transfer students who transfer to adult school and see if they graduate.

Statewide, transfer students who went to adult programs and weren’t counted in graduation rates accounted for most of the state's graduation rate jump from 63.08 percent in 2012 to 70.65 percent in 2013.

Clark County saw its graduation rate jump nearly 10 percentage points, from 62 percent graduation rate in 2012 to more than 71 percent in 2013. But of that jump, Clark County only graduated 4 percent more students.

Washoe’s graduation rate increased from 69 percent to 73 percent from 2012 to 2013. If transfer students to adult education are counted in Washoe County, the graduation rate is lower, but still jumped from 65 percent in 2012 to 70 percent in 2013.